Jennlee.2's Full Review: Pounce Hairball Treat Ment
I feel somewhat lucky that my cats don't have a lot of hairballs. After reading here, it seems like I'm getting off easy. I have two cats, one long-hair and one short-hair. They are constantly grooming themselves and each other. Because of this grooming, each of them can get occasional hairballs, although my long-haired baby, Toby, gets them far more frequently.
One of the things I don't understand is that cats are so picky about where they do their business, and yet they'll hack up a hair ball just any old place. And it isn't like they are suddenly overcome and hack it up instantaneously someplace - I hear them trying to cough it up several times over a span of time. I get a few occasional surprises on the carpet, although lately they've been in the basement for some reason. The concrete floor being easier to clean, I take this little gift as well as I can, thinking "could be worse."
I've tried a variety of remedies and they all work. My cats love them all. They like the various kinds in the tube and they like plain petroleum jelly. Getting them to eat the stuff isn't the problem. The problem is how often I give it to them. If it isn't easy to give, I won't do it often. The tube kind is a little awkward and time consuming. I have to get the tube and open it. Then I let them lick off the end of the tube as I squeeze (scientific measuring method). The problem is I have two cats and its difficult with them both budging in to get the lion's share. The petroleum jelly (Vaseline or other brand) is fairly easy. I keep some at my bedside as a lip balm. The cats come running when they hear me unscrew the lid. I let them lick some off my finger. Messy, but effective.
I've long ago given up trying to figure out why cats like or don't like to eat particular things. I understand why they might like the flavored hairball remedy sold in a tube - it usually has some fish flavor or something in it which is supposed to make it attractive to cats. But I can't for the life of me imagine why they like Vaseline. I use it on my lips at night and I can't taste anything. They just love the stuff, so I imagine it must taste wonderful to them.
I eventually saw the Pounce Hairball TreatMents in a store and thought, "my goodness these are expensive." But my urge to try them overcame my sticker shock. I bought some and that evening let the kitties try them out. My cats love Pounce treats, so I hoped they'd like this new kind.
The treats come in the typical Pounce cannister. Pounce advertises that their treats make a shaking sound in the cannister. This is really true. Shake the can and your cats come running because they know what it means - treats! I think of Pavlov's dogs every time I repeat this little experiment in conditioning.
The hairball treats have is a little bit different packaging from the standard treats. Inside the cannister there is a plastic-lined,corrigated cardboard that encircles the inside, and the treats are within that. This means that you're getting even less treats than you expect, because the cardboard takes up space. But I think it is supposed to protect the treats in some way.
Also the cannister is placed in a blister-pack - a packaging with a cardboard backing with the item inside a plastic enclosure. I think this is because they are more expensive and maybe they're attempting to make the product difficult to steal. Either that or it is to protect the treats in some way. This packaging makes the treats look different from the regular Pounce treats, so they may not catch your eye as you browse through the Pounce cannisters.
You should administer the treats on a regular basis to prevent hairballs. They recommend 3-5 pieces per cat per week. And for a cat that has a hairball they recommend 3-5 pieces daily until the hairball is gone (one way or the other!).
The treats are like little raviolis - an outside "skin" containing within it a mushy center. The center stuff is the hairball stuff. It looks like pretty standard hairball treatment - similar to what you'd get in a tube. It's all in the packaging. By putting this inside of a flavored outer skin, they make it far less messy thus appealing to cat owners, and it could appeal to cats who perhaps don't like the regular treatments.
Anyway, when I tried the new treats on my babies, they were an instant hit. The cats love them. If I squeeze them a little bit to get the stuff oozing out, they can smell it better and gobble them down pretty quick. Rather than liking the outer skin part I think they like that inside hairball stuff.
My cat, Toby, still gets the occasional hairball, but I think the treats do help. He is quite a funny cat. When I give him some regular hairball remedy or some Vaseline, he smells it and then does one huge soundless gag. Then he eats it. I wonder what this behavior is all about.
Overall I recommend trying Pounce Hairball TreatMents. Most cats in my experience like them. Of course, cats being cats, there's no guarantee. And I think they do work to reduce or eliminate hairballs, depending on the cat and also on the owner's diligence.
While some cats don't mind taking a hairball treatment, others will do anything not to! These are the cats Pounce Hairball Treat-Ments were made for. ...More at PetSmart
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